Armenia’s deputy speaker criticises defrocking of priest

Armenian Parliament Deputy Speaker Ruben Rubinyan has publicly condemned the decision by Catholicos Garegin II to defrock priest Ter Tad (Tad Tahmazyan), arguing that the move carries no legal or canonical legitimacy.

Rubinyan stated in a post on social media that he fully supports Ter Tad and asserted that the defrocking, announced by Garegin II (Ktrich Nersisyan) is invalid, Caliber.Az reports.

He claimed that, in his view, Garegin II does not hold legitimate authority as Catholicos, and therefore any disciplinary measures he issues are without effect. According to Rubinyan, Ter Tad remains a priest regardless of the announcement.

He further argued that, if Garegin II wished, he could attempt to “defrock the entire Church” or even ordain public figures such as former Armenian presidents Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan, or Russian-Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetyan, insisting that such decisions would be equally meaningless.

Father Tahmazyan had previously criticised the Armenian Church under Garegin II, claiming that vice and corruption pervade its hierarchy. Observers note that the Catholicos’ decision is widely perceived as an act of retaliation against a priest who openly opposed him.

This development comes amid escalating tensions between Armenia’s government and the Armenian Apostolic Church. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has repeatedly called on Catholicos Garegin II to resign, accusing him of violating his vow of celibacy and pointing to alleged corruption within the Church. 

By Sabina Mammadli